Water cooler



May 31, 1932. c. suNDEEN ET AL WATER COOLER 2 Sheets-Sheet l Fild Sept. 6, 1928 ln D Z4/.EB Swag-5N JAMEs 6. fune-,2.

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A TTQRNEY l Il May 3l, 1932.

c. suNDEEN ET AL.

WATER COOLER Filed Sept. 6, 1928 2 Shee'r,s-She^1I 2 INVENTORD Jaua Suma-IN. ./Anfs GJ' R. BY

ATTORNEY Patented May 31, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CALEB SUNDEEN AND JAMES Gr. FULLER, F GARDNER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGN'ORS T0 ICEBERG MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS WATER COOLER Application filed September 6, 1928. Serial No. 304,228.

Our invention relates to new and improved constructions .of liquid coolers wherein the cooling is accomplished by mechanical refrigerating means.

Our invention is shown as applied .to hquid coolers of the inverted bottle type Where-A l in the inverted bottle rests upon the container wlierein the liquid is cooled, but this showing is by Way of example only because the principles are applicable to liquid or beverage coolers generally.

In liquid coolers of this type from which the cooled beverages are adapted to be dispensed, and in places Where such coolers are used, Such as oflices, display rooms, etc., it

is often desirable to have ice available forv various purposes. Where the liquid in such coolers is cooled by means of ice, the ice 1s avallable for such uses, but Where such coolm ers are equipped with mechanical refrigeration units, there has heretofore been no method provided whereby ice could be obtained.

It is, therefore, one object of our invention to provide a Water cooler of the above type,

. 25 wherein the mechanical refrigeration unit' is used for the purpose of making ice aswell.

as for the purpose of cooling the liquid.

It is a further object of our invention to provide an arrangement of evaporator or cooling unit that will permit the making of ice in one part of the container and the cooling of beverages in the other part thereof.

It is a further object of our invention to provide a cooler of the` above type wherein the arrangement of the evaporator for accomplishing the two purposes is the most etilcient from the standpoint of utilizing all of Vthe cooling effect of the circulated refrigerant.

Other and further objects of our invention will appear from the following description, and from the drawings, wherein-z Figure 1 is a front view of a portion ofa Watercooler of the inverted bottle vtype wherein the cooling chamber and refrigerating machine are housed within the cabinet;

Fig. 3 is a detail of the brine tank and evaporator looking from the front thereof and with the cabinet removed;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section of another form ofdliquid cooler embodying oury invention; an

F ig. 5 is a front view of the form shown in Flg. 4.

The operation of mechanical refrigerating units in compressing a refrigerant, condensing the same, and expanding the condensed re rigerant to do useful work, is too well known to require the illustration of the compressing and condensing units and since they constitute no part of the present invention they are not illustrated herein.

Referring to Fig. 3 of the drawings, 11 is` the pipe communicating with the condenser (not shown) and leading to the expansion Communicating with the expansion valve 12 is an expansion or evaporator unit comprislng three coils 13, 14 and 15 connected in series. The return line from the expansion unit to the compressor (not shown) is indicated by the pipe 16.

The expansion unit is shown as located within a brine tank 17 into which extends 'a liquid container 18.l Communicating with the liquid container at its bottom is a faucet 19 from which the cooled beverages are adapted to be dispensed. The faucet may be of any desired construction.

It will be noted that the coils 13 and 14:

are located near the bottom of the brine tank 17 and on oppositesides of the liquid container 18, while the coil 15 is located near the top of the brine tank 17 and surrounds the liquid container 18. Thus, with the .refrigeration cycle as indicated above, the refrig erant when coolest is' supplied to thek coils 13 and 14 for purposes that will hereinafter appear.

In order to lcinltrol the operation of the refrigeratin'g machine, a thermostat '21 is provided and has an element extendin into the brine tank 17 The thermostat is s own as connected to the refrigerating machine through the electric cable 22.

The brine tank is provided with two :iper-.10

tures 23 and 24 in the front thereof. Fitting within the apertures and extending rearwardly through the coils 13 and 14 is a pair of supports 25 and 26, the supports 25 and 26 being supported by the coils 13 and 14 respectively. The supports 25 and 26 are joined to the wall of the brine tank 17 so as to seal the openings.

Since the supports 25 and 26 are alike, it will only be necessary to continue the descri tion with reference to one of them.

T e support 25 is provided with a pair of inwardly projecting shelves 27 upon which the tray or pan 29 is adapted to rest. The support 25 either extends from the front to the rear of the brine tank 17 and is soldered f or otherwise secured to the rear wall thereof so as to prevent leakage of the brine at this point, or the end of the support 25 is closed by a rear Wall 28. In the construction illustrated, the tray 29 is provided with outwardly flanged edges 30 which rest upon the shelves 27 to support the tray within the closure 25. The tray 29 is provided with longitudinally and laterally extending partitions 32.

The tray 29 is filled with water. The refrigerating apparatus is so designed that a sufficient cooling effect is imparted to the coils 13 and 14 that by the direct action or expansion sufficient B. t. us. can be'extracted from the water in the trays 29 to' freeze the same and by means of thelongitudinal and lateral partitions 32, ice cubes are thus formed in the trays.

By locating the coils 13 and 14 near the bottom of the container in which the liquid to be cooled is placed, a cooling effect is imparted to the brine in the tank 17 adjacent the bottom of the tank. Therefore, in order to cool the liquid in the container, it is only necessary in our construction to place a coil about the liquid container near the top of the brine tank. By arranging that the coils 13 and 14 receive the expanded refrigerant when it is first brought from the con'lenser and by properly proportioning the coils 13, 14 and 15, a greater cooling effect is imparted to the coils 13 and 14 than to thiI coil 15 so that ice is formed in the trays 29, While the liquid in the liquid container is only cooled and not frozen.

It will be noted that the liquid container 18 extends above the top of the brine tank and is open at its top where it is beaded or flanged as indicated at 33 to receive a packing ring 34 against which the inverted b'rattle 35 rests to seal the top of the lidji tainer 18.

The brine tank and associated apparatus described above fits within a cougaar-indent 36 of a cabinet comprising side walls 37, a top 38 having a suitable aperture through which the liquid container 18 extends and a bottom partition 39. The walls 37, 38 and 39 are insulated with cork or similar material. The compartment 36 is one compartment of the cabinet, there being a lower compartment 40 which houses the refrigeration apparatus referred to above, but not shown. Where the container 18 extends into the aperture in the top Wall 38, a packing ring 41 is provided to eect a seal between the outer wall of the container and the inner wall of the aperture.

The front of the cabinet is provided with a pair of apertures registering with the apertures 23 and 24 in the brine tank, the apertures in the cabinet being closed by a pair of covers 42. The cover 42 is joined to the tray by any rigid connection such as the rod 44 which is shown best in Fig. 2. Each cover 42 is provided with a handle or knob 43 for the removal of the cover and tray from the cabinet.

In order to insure the cover and tray bein retained in place within the cabinet, a pair o leaf springs 45 is provided which are fianged at their free ends as indicated at 46 to provide an enterin wedge when replacing the tray in the ca inet and to compress the springs as the tra is inserted in place in the cabinet. The springs frictionally engage the wall of the cabinet and the cover is retained in its full closed position, thus preventing heat leakage at this point.

-frozen and cooled in different portions there- Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, the tank 51 corresponds tothe brine tank 17 but is divided into a pluralit of chambers as follows: 52 is a brine chamber, 53 and 54 are freezing chambers, and 55 is the container for the liquid to be cooled, corresponding to the container 18 of Fi 3.

As in Figs. 2 and 3, the cooling unit comprises a plurality of coils 56, 57 and 58 located respectively in the chambers 52, 53 and 54. The coil 56 surrounds the liquid container 57 and is in turn immersed in the brine in the chamber 52. This coil arrangement is so designed as to cool the liquid in the container 55 and maintain the same at the desired temperature.

The chambers 53 and 54 extend on opposite sides of the container 55 and are formed by the adjacent bottom and side walls of the container 51 and by transverse partitions 61, form the upper walls of the chambers 53 and 54, and a pair of vertical walls 63 and 64 that extend from the bottom wall of the container to the partitions 61, and alongside the container 55. The partitions 61 and plates or walls 63 and 64 are soldered or otherwise secured in place so as to render the compartments 53 and 54 entirely enclosed.

The interior of the coils 57 and 58 are the construction and arrangement of yparts as described above, it is possible to proluJ provided with a pair of shell-like supports 65 and 66 in which are mounted trays 67, the construction and arrangement of parts beinlg exactly similar to that described above wit reference to the supports and 26 and the ice trays 29.

By the arrangement of chambers 52, 53 and 54 provided in Figs. 4 and 5, the cooling in the chambers 53 and 54 is by direct expansion or action of the expanded refrigerant in the coils 57 and 58, whereas the cooling in chamber 52 is partially through the medium of the brine which acts as the cold storage for maintaining the liquid cool. Thus, the cooling action in the chambers 53 and 54 is much more rapid'than that in the chamber 52, so that the temperature in the chambers 53 and 54 may readily be that necessary for forming. ice, while at the same time, the brine requires a longer time to cool and thus is slower acting and merely cools the liquid in A above freezing,

the container 55.

Modifications may be made in the arrangement and location of parts within .the spirit and scope of our invention but such modifications are intended to be covered by the apnended claims. g

We claim:

V1. In a liquid cooler of the inverted bottle type, the combination with a cabinet, a liquid container therein adapted' to receive an inverted bottle, a draw oif connection therefor, a brine tank surrounding said container, and a receptacle in said cabinet adapted tov receive and contain an ice drawer, of cooling means for said container and receptacle comprising an expansion unit of mechanical refrigeration apparatus communicating with said receptacle and brine tank whereby said receptacle is cooled by direct expansion and said liquid container is ycooled through the medium of the brine. `f I 2. In a Watercooler, a receptacle having a plurality of water containers therein, refrigeration means to freeze the water in one of said containers and to cool the `water in another of saidV containers vto a temperaturev and-a thermostatic control for said cooling means actuated in accordance with the temperature of the water in the latter container. v

3. A water cooler having a receptacle, a plurality of water containers therein, one of said containers-having inlet and draw off `connections and a heat storage medium subg "stantially surrounding the same, and refrigeration means to freeze the water in one pf. saidlcontainers and cooperating with said -heat storage medium to maintainthe water in its associated container cool, but at a temperature above freezing.

4. A liquid cooler of the inverted bottle type having a main liquid containing chamber communicating with the inverted bottle andv provided with a draw olf connection tion means communicating with the separate compartment to form ice in the container therein by direct expansion of refrigerant in the portion thereof communicating with said separate compartment, said refrigeration means cooperating with the heat storage medium to cool the liquid in the iirstmentioned container to a temperature above freezin 6. Afbeverage cooler comprising, a cabinet, a container therein adapted to receive liquid to be cooled, supply and draw oif connections therefor, said cabinet having an enclosed chamber adapted to receive and contain an ice drawer, cooling means comprising an expansion unit of mechanical refrigeration apparatus for cooling said ice chamber and container, a heat storage medium cooperating with said cooling means for cooling said container, that portion of the cooling means for cooling said ice chamber acting to cool by direct expansion, and contro- 1 means for said cooling means actuated to maintain the temperatures in said chamber and container between certain limits.

7. In a beverage cooler, the combination .with acabinet, a beverage container therein having supply and draw off connections, and an -ice drawer mounted in said cabinet, of refrigerating means comprising an expansion unitphaving a coil mounted within said cabinet for forming ice in said drawer and a l'coil of smaller heat absorbing 4capacity mounted within said cabinet for cooling the beverage in said container to a temperature above freeing. Y

8. In a liquid cooler ofthe inverted bottle type, a liquid `container adapted to receive the inverted bottle, a draw off connection therefor, a chamber adapted to receive and contain an ice drawer, cooling means for the container and chamber comprising an expansi'onunit of mechanicalrefrigeration apparatus,l said unit comprising coils for' said chamber and container respectively, the coil fory .the ice drawer chamber ycommunicating di rectly 4with the inlet end of said expansion c unit so asto receive the expanded refriger` ant before it passesto the coil for said contalner,

and a thermostat for controllingsaidy cooling means in response to the temperature of said liquid container. Y-

; 9. In a beverage cooler, a cabinet, a beverage .container-therein having supply and draw of connections, anice drawer mounted in said cabinet, cooling means therefor comprising a heat absorption unit having the inlet end of said unit that leads from the refrigeration apparatus located adjacent said ice drawer and the outlet end of said unit that leads to the refrigeration apparatus located adjacent said container.

10. In a beverage cooler, a cabinet, a beverage container therein having `supply and draw oiV connections, an ice drawer mounted in said cabinet, cooling'means comprising a heat absorption unit having the inlet end of said unit that leads from the refrigeration apparatus located. adjacent said ice drawer and the outlet end of said unit that leads to the refrigeration apparatus located adjacent said container, and automatic control means t located adjacent the outlet-end of said unit means for forming ice in the ice drawer and for cooling the beverage in said container to a temperature above freezing, and automatic control means for said refrigeration means situated adjacent to said container and actuy'ated in accordance with the temperature in said beverage container.

12. A beverage cooler comprising a cabinet having a brine tank mounted in the cabinet, a beverage container mounted in the brine tank and having supply and draw off connections thereto, an ice drawer mounted in a compartment in the cabinet, refrigerating means comprising a heat absorbing unit connected to said refrigerating means and through which a cooling medium is circulated, said unit comprising a coil mounted in said ice drawer compartment, and having a portion thereof extending through said brine tank to cool the Water in said container, and an automatic control for the refrigerating means.

13. In a beverage cooler, a cabinet, a beverage container mounted therein and having supply and draw off connections therefor, said cabinet having a compartment, an ice drawer mounted in said compartment, and refrigerating means comprising a heat absorbing unit through which a cooling medium is circulated, a portion of said unit being closely related with said ice drawer and relatively remote from said container and another portion being closely related to said container and relatively remote from said ice drawer.

14. In a beverage cooler, a cabinet, a brine tank mounted in said cabinet, a beverage container mounted in the brine tank and having supply and draw off connections therefor,

vsaid cabinet having a compartment below sald brine tank, an ice drawer mounted in said compartment, refrigeration means comprising a heat absorbing unit through which a cooling medium is circulated, said unit comprisin a coil extending in said compartment of su cient capacity for forming ice in said drawer, the coil acting to cool by direct expansion and said unit communicating with the brine tank and being of suiiicient capacity to also cool the beverage in said container to a temperature above freezing. A

15. In a beverage cooler, a cabinet, a beverage container mounted therein and having supply and draw oif connections, anice draw-v;

er mounted in said cabinet, and refrigerating means comprising a heat absorbing unit through which a cooling medium is circulated, said unit comprising a coil surrounding said ice drawer, and a separate coil surrounding the beverage container, the coils respectively being of such heat absorbing capacity as to form ice in said drawer 4and to cool the beverage in said container to a temperasaid cabinet having a compartment below thebeverage container,an ice drawer mounted in said compartment, refrigerating means having portions arranged in heat transfer relation with the ice drawer and bever container respectively for forming ice 1n said drawer and for cooling the beverage in .said container to a temperature above freezing.

18. A beverage cooler comprising a cabinet, a brine tank mounted in said cabinet, a beverage container mounted in the brine tank and having supply and draw oif connections therefor, said cabinet having a compartment below said brine tank, an ice drawer mounted in said compartment, and refrigerating means connected with said compartment an said brine tank for forming ice in said drawer and for cooling the beverage in said container to a temperature above freezing.

19. In a beverage cooler, the combination comprising a cabinet, a beverage container mounted therein and having supply and draw oif connections, said cabinet vhaving a compartment therein, an ice drawer mounted in said compartment, the cabinet having an opening allowing access to said ice drawer, a movable cover for closing said opening, and retaining means carried inside the cabinet for retaining the cover in place in said opening.

20. In a beverage cooler, the combination comprising a cabinet, a beverage container.

mounted therein and having supply and draw off connections, a compartment in said cabinet, an ice drawer mounted in said compartment, the cabinet having an opening allowing access to said ice drawer, a movable cover for closing said opening, and spring clips carried inside the cabinet for retalning the cover in place in said opening.

21. A cabinet comprising a cooling chamber having an opening in one wall thereof, a liquid container y located in the cooling chamber and spaced from the sides of sail opening, an inverted bottle adapted tov feed liquid into said container, and means for effecting a seal about said invertedbottle and for closing said opening, the closure for said opening including insulation means for preventing a direct connection or contact between the liquid container and the wall'of the cooling chamber.

22. A beverage cooler comprising a cabinet, a beverage container mounted therein and having supply and draw off connections therefor, anice drawer mounted in said cabinet, the container and ice drawer being mounted sideby side, refrigeration means having a portion closely related with said ice drawer and relatively remote from said container, and another portion closely related to said container and relatively remote from said ice drawer.

23. A beverage cooler comprising a cabinet having a main beverage container therein with supply and draw ofl" connections therefor, and also having auxiliary chambers therein accessible through a wall of said cabinet, said auxiliary chambers adapted t0 receive ice drawers therein, means for cooling said beverage container and ice drawer chambers respectively, said means comprising an expansion unit of mechanical refrigeration apparatus, and -movable closure means for said ice drawer chambers carried by the cabinet, saidf-,elosure means giving ac-lv cess to the ice drawers for removal thereof.

In testimony whereof we aliix our signatures.

CALEB SUNDEEN.

G. ULLER. 

